Tag: term

Term 1… Blink and You’ll Miss it! [Part One]

So…. I have started this post at least four times over the past couple of months, but things just kept getting in the way! School related stuff, like planning, marking etc; socialising (I actually maintained my social life this term to an extent! I know, shock!); and most importantly spending time with my better half… we have now moved in together and are relishing every moment. This has also been amplified by the sheer exhaustion that is definitely more of a personality trait than a feeling!

I have decided to write two blog posts about the first term. This first one is going to be about strategies I have put in place that have worked for me this term, and the second one will be more focused on my classes and teaching and learning.

The first thing I would like to state is not only have I made it through my first term as an NQT, but I have loved (nearly) every second of it! After having a significant amount of low points (well hidden) last year, I was completely anxious about starting in September – mainly because the move from PGCE to NQT means a complete shift in responsibility and suddenly I was acutely aware that all these students will be dependant on me and me alone! I am still waiting for that overwhelming moment where I am consumed with doubt, stress or failure – it hasn’t hit yet and I am calling that a win!

One of the main things to help me this year, is to make sure I am prioritising myself. It is so much easier working on my time and not having to wait for another teacher to hear my ideas – if I want to go off the scheme of work slightly then I do! I have been giving myself the equivalent of two days off a week minimum. As much as I could live and breathe teaching, I am very aware that that is not healthy – it is necessary to have a life outside of school! One of my lovely colleagues has invited me down to the yard on Tuesdays after school, and it has been so therapeutic being able to spend some time around horses – something that I have not done for a very long time! Having something booked in every week as helped me focus and get my work done, so I don’t miss out on the fun!

Using the shared resources more is something that has also been ridiculously helpful. My planning time has been halved – there were so many boxes to tick last year, it often felt like all I was doing was ‘reinventing the wheel’ – even though that is what we were told not to do! I have contributed the odd idea to the department, but in using what is already there, I have saved myself a lot of valuable time. Marking has also taken up less time. I have managed to work out what I am marking and when so that I don’t have a lot to do in one go – I have even left myself with none for the half term which is a complete blessing.

But, finally, the main thing that has been helping me is the support I have around me. As mentioned earlier, I have recently moved in with my partner and he has gone above and beyond to make sure that I have a stress free life… well as stress free as it can be! He is so good to me and I am very fortunate… I know that he is definitely value added to my mental wellbeing staying in the positive! The other big support system is the school I am at, specifically the fantastic English department. I have got a lot of amazing friends in some brilliant teachers, that have let me observe them, shared resources with me and above all, let me know that everything I am feeling is normal! It is normal to have a class that drive you insane, it is normal to get annoyed by teenagers, it is normal to feel overwhelmed at times, it is normal to have to scrap your original lesson because the students aren’t making progress. They always have something positive to say to me and I will be forever grateful for their help both now and in my first placement.

Finished reading

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories – Ken Liu 

Jack the Ripper – Paul Rigg & John Bennett

Macbeth – William Shakespeare 

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor – Adam Kay

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Gail Honeymoon 

The Testaments – Margaret Atwood

Cracking India – Bapsi Sidhwa

And just like that, it’s September again!

I knew in my heart of hearts that my two months off would go quickly, but that didn’t stop the sheer panic I felt Sunday evening, knowing I would be starting a new job the following day. As I worked at this school during my first placement, I was grateful that I already knew the team fairly well – I had spent a few hours catching up with one of the lovely ladies on Sunday (she was incredible at calming my nerves… so thanks if you’re reading this!) and I knew I couldn’t do anything else to prepare for the job as I did not have my timetable yet.

Luckily we had an inset day Monday, so I was able to ease myself in. In all honesty, I was completely terrified and felt totally overwhelmed. I knew not much would go in so I thought I would be kind to myself and not give myself any more work than necessary! I found out I am going to be a tutor for a year 7 group, which is super exciting as I will get to experience helping out the newbies and hopefully become their first port of call over the year!

The one thing I knew I was going to have to get a grip on straight away was my own wellbeing. I have a tendency to throw myself completely into my work and think about the consequences of my own feelings later… which proved tricky last year. I am a workaholic but I know I’m going to need to try and minimise the amount of work I do at home (for my partner’s sake just as much as mine!). This week I have combated the anxiety by taking everything a day at a time and making sure I am not ‘reinventing the wheel’ by making use of the faculty’s amazing resources (my partner can vouch for how excited I get when I am looking through lessons on the shared area ).

I am also going to try and limit the amount of time I spend blogging – there were a few occasions last year when I spent well over an hour, because I was avoiding doing anything else. So I am going to trial just thinking about what has gone brilliantly and what I want to make a priority next week. I am hoping these small steps will help me to have a positive outlook on the week and give me focus for the next. There will be no doubt the odd funny anecdote included too… I have got a few um…. interesting characters in my classes that have had me in hysterics.

Things to celebrate

This week I have made a good start in building good relationships with my classes. My year 10 and year 11s are a tad painfully quiet at times, but I’ve got them working hard already so that’s fantastic. They were the two classes I was most nervous about, with the looming GCSEs in the summer. My year 10 this year couldn’t be further from my bottom set I had in my final placements last year, but I have a feeling I am going to like them just as much. My year 8 and year 7 classes are completely bonkers… which I love, but may become challenging at times. I also survived my first time on duty… which was on the first day the students were here!

I am also proud of how I have been dealing with the work load – I’ve even made sure I have time to do a bit of yoga and jogging this week (let’s see how long that lasts)! As I said earlier, the faculty is AMAZING and I know I could ask anyone anything and they will help me out with anything I need…no matter how ridiculous the question! The support I have there is the main reason I was so ecstatic to accept the job there. Most importantly the lovely head of department (who obviously has loads on her plate without adding me to it!) is my NQT mentor and I couldn’t ask for a better mentor. She helped me out a ridiculous amount last year, so I am looking forward to having her help me out this year too!

Things to focus on

During my first NQT meeting with my mentor, we discussed the targets we should make for me in my first term. The two main things that came out of our conversation were getting used to the KS3 curriculum, including how grading works, and becoming ‘warm but strict’ (she picked up on the fact that I can be a bit soft at times and I need to ensure I am using the behaviour policy correctly and effectively). As it is still early days, I am going to focus on RtL next week, hopefully getting to learn more of their names in the process (honestly makes RtL MUCH easier to use). In particular, I want to work on my year 7 group. I’ve only taught them once, but they were an extremely lively group and I need to ensure standards are set well, as they will be mixed up in the next few weeks and we will have slightly different groups.

I am also intending to continue to organise my classroom – note to self, bring my folders into school!!! – and I would like to have a look through at least the year 10 and 11’s books mid week.

The most entertaining job…

I’ve had a couple of face palm moments this week (often things I do or say oops). But here are a couple of great moments from my classroom this week…

Year 8

(Written on the board is the class’ definition of a ballad starting with ‘A ballad is…’

Me: Do we all think this is a good enough definition? Does anyone think we should add anything or change anything?

Student: Me! I think we should…. oh wait I’ve forgotten……………… OH! Yes we should put at the end ‘and it is a ballad’.

Tutor group

(I had been explaining the ready to learn behaviour system)

Year 7 student: Had this been checked out by a psychiatrist? Us year 7s have enough stress to deal with without having to worry about being in isolation…

Safe to say I reassured him that many schools were using ready to learn and that if he was concerned, maybe he should simply follow the school rules and not end up there.

Anyway, I have finished the week on a high – I am truly loving teaching Macbeth (the text I was most worried about teaching) and I am feeling more confident now I have met most of my students. Bring on next week!

Currently reading

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories – Ken Liu (This is the book I will be reading during ‘drop everything and read’ at school!)

Jack the Ripper – Paul Rigg & John Bennett

Macbeth – William Shakespeare (Obvious reasons)

This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor – Adam Kay

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Gail Honeymoon (Finally… late to the party with this one, I know!)